Sunday, September 1, 2013

Tater Tot Fritatta! or Week 20 of What I had for Dinner Last Night Fritatta

I mean Come on!!! I am an old man, older than dirt, but when I opened that frozen bag I was hit with a wave of nostalgia. I started remembering the tots of my youth. My inner eight year old just could not imagine using the rest of the bag for something fun... But ultimately I just made a big batch to gnosh on.

These are what was left after the nostalgia Nosh.

I came up with the idea for this breakfast when I had only about a cup and a half worth of Tots leftovers. Not enough for two people, but if you stretch, poured over a 4 Egg Fritatta, it makes a very filling meal for two.

If you squint and ponder, you can see that Tater Tots are actually Hash Brown Potatoes. It isn't much of a stretch to serve the hash browns with eggs which turns into a potato omelette (Italian Fritatta don't you know).

Of course, you remember everything I have said about Fritattas (think Italian Open faced Omelette). In this case, a basic Italian Omelette, the Fritatta! I have done a couple of posts on making a Fritatta... A basic, sort of Fritatta 101, and a Tomato Fritata (see the photo). They are basically the same and I worked hard on the details so that indeed, "Anyone can cook" these if they read over those blog posts. The Fritatta really is the easiest of all the omelette recipes to make. No vigorous shaking (the French), no Folding (This might be an American invention, certainly popularized in American cuisine).

Well, making a Firtatta has become a way of life for me. Aside from the two blog posts mentioned above, I stopped even looking at a recipe *they are simple, eggs, a little cream, butter for the pan and whatever extra you want to use). The technique is important, so do take a look at the Fritatta 101 post to see what I am talking about. I stopped asking permission to change the recipe long ago. Mostly I make fritattas from whatever I had for dinner last night. Fish, beef, pork, vegetables, cheese, salami... Everything but soup.

So, here's my series... Once a week for a year I am going to give you permission to try something yourself... The Whatever I had for dinner last night Fritatta!

In a Non Stick oven safe saute Pan, over medium high heat melt a TBS of Butter

Add the Tots and arrange in a pleasing pattern

Whisk together 4 Eggs and 2 TBS of Heavy Cream (sure,milk will work)

Add the eggs gently over the fixins

heat for 4 minutes on the stove top, until the eggs around the edge are set but the center is still jiggly wet.

Move the pan to the oven and broil for 2 minutes. Check to see if the top is set and is just starting to brown.

Repeat if needed

Flip the fritatta onto a preheated plate. This may take practice, but by the time you do a couple of weeks' worth you will have it down perfect, place a plate upside down over the saute pan, hold the bottom of the plate (now n top) solidly with the palm of your hand and holding the handle of the pan, quickly and smoothly, FLIP

Serve HOT and ENJOY!

I want to thank the good folks at RED GOLD PREMIUM TOMATOES who recently sent me a box of goodies. You will be seeing a few recipes using their tomatoes soon, but I thought these tots deserved a drizzle from the freebie bottle of Mama Selita's Jalapeno Ketchup!

The ketchup is OUTSTANDING. Thick and rich and fantastic. I loved the jalapeno flavor. This kiddie meal got a wonderful grown up taste with the extra punch. Thanks Red Gold. Can't wait to try this on more dishes!

Now, what's your idea for aWhatever I had for dinner last night Fritatta!!!here's my list ... SO FAR!

Fritatta #1... I had a rare plate of take out food, Sweet and Sour Chicken from my local Asian take out place.

A dinner of Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes turns into yet another delicious loaded up specialty breakfast.... The MEATLOAF FRITATTA is made with an Italian meatloaf recipe, loaded with Sofrito vegetables. I even made up some mashed potato cakes also from the leftovers!

Fritatta #5

An indulgent dinner of a grilled steak turns into a classic BEST use of leftovers, Steak and Eggs, turns into a delicious Steak and Eggs Fritatta! Add some tomato slices for color and sweetness and you have a "new" Classic Steak and Egg dish!

And all those spicy sweet Cajun ingredients made one heck of a wonderful Fritatta!

Fritatta #7

Last night was a rare night of take out Chinese food. I saved a bit of Sesame Chicken to make my Fritatta.

Deliciously seasoned with Asian spices and sauces, this was one of my favorites!

Fritatta #8

Last night was a fantastic opportunity to cook with a food blogging buddy as I got Smoking lessons on a Big Green Egg. We slow smoked a Pork Loin and I grilled some Cherry Tomatoes and Snow Peas...
Made a FANTASTIC Pork, Cherry tomato and Sugar Snap pea Fritatta!

Fritatta #9

Last night I made BACON BACON BACON... but not just any bacon, this was Bourbon Maple Pepper BACON! Sounds good doesn't it? And it made an even better Bourbon Maple Pepper Bacon Fritatta!!!

Last night I made some Pulled Pork and it is about my very favorite thing to eat in the world! I added a bit of onion, but this is a great use of leftovers. SOmething new from last night's meal. A Pulled Pork Fritatta is about as good as it gets!

Fritatta #12

Last night I made a Sausage, Onion and Pepper Stir Fry! very simple, very fast and one of my favorite quicky Go To dinners. Takes just minutes to prepare. And now I make just a little extra to make a fantastic Onion, Pepper and SAUSAGE Skillet Breakfast FRITATTA!

Fritatta #13

Last night I made some fantastic Vegetable Stuffed Peppers. Lots of stuff, corn, peppers, onions, cheese... even more! The perfect stuffing for a STUFFED PEPPER FRITATTA! Delicious!

Fritatta #14

Last night I grilled a delicious ABT... Those amazing grilling appetizer, the Atomic Buffalo Turd!!! Sure I made a fritatta, but I also cut out a circle and made an ATOMIC BUFFALO TURD FRITATTA SANDWICH!

Fritatta #15

MY GARDEN CAME IN!!!
This was really simple... just one extra ingredient but had all the fresh tastes of SUMMER! The Fresh Cherry Tomato Fritatta!!!

Fritatta #16

Potatoes and Sausage... And a few onions. That was one complete meal in itself. For a nice hearty rib sticking meal, nothing beats a Potato/Sausage Fritatta!

Fritatta #17

The ultimate example of BBQ, Pulled Pork, becomes the ultimate use of leftovers as I made a BBQ Pulled Pork Fritatta. Pulled Pork is so good, but sometimes you need new ideas for using up the leftovers. This was WONDERFUL!

Comforting, Warming, Delicious Scratch Made SOUP!

COOKIES!!! Bars!!! and Truffles!!!

Grilling Time Secret Extras

infuse recipes with this intoxicating concoction of hops and barley

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About Me

Cul de Sac Cuisine. Making the most of local, fresh and best the suburbs have to offer. Just a little healthy eating, but always instructional and inviting. The suburban Cul de Sac is where it's at, and my back yard is the place to be!